Turkish Artists and Friends In the shadow of Istanbul’s Blue Mosque, Musa Basaran, a kilim and tapestry weaver, and his good friend Mehmet Fazil Bilici, a rug collector, hang out each morning drinking chai and exchanging news in the carpet shop situated on the first floor of Mehmet’s Hotel Fehmi Bey. Their friendship spans decades, the two even attended Istanbul University together, both graduating in economics and finance. Musa and Mehmet share a love of textiles, particularly of carpets, but for slightly different reasons.  Mehmet Fazil Bilici and Musa Basaran in Mehmet's carpet shop at the Fehmi Bey Hotel. Musa designs and weaves and sells kilims and tapestries in a studio just around the corner from his friend Mehmet’s hotel in the tourist district of Sultanahmet. His work is one-of-a kind in Turkey and has been exhibited internationally. While he honors traditional kilim weaving, much of his work is contemporary art.  Musa's dreamscape, a place he might like to go to and retire.  Musa's naturally-dyed silk yarn.  A naturally dyed carpet designed and woven by Musa Basaran made with wool, silk and linen.  Vegetable dyes Musa uses for his yarn. Left to right: Buckthorn, cochineal, chamomile and madder root. Musa offers weaving workshops and has restored apartments above his studio that are available for his out-of-town students to rent.   Living room and kitchen in Musa's apartments.  The view from the deck of Musa's apartments.   Mehmet recently opened a rug gallery beside his hotel that he filled with old and rare rugs including Ottoman, Armenian and Sufi designs. Each has a tale to tell. Mehmet’s favorite, however, is not for sale and hangs in the lobby of his hotel. It is a pictorial pile weave that depicts the story of weaving a carpet (photo to left.) If you plan to visit Istanbul but not long enough to take one of Musa’s courses, consider staying stay at the Fehmi Bey. The staff is the friendliest in town. They treated me like a member of the family when I stayed with them for several weeks last fall. To inquire about Musa’s carpets or weaving workshops, please contact Musa at: musabasaran@gmail.com. To contact Mehmet Bilici about rugs or for inquiries about his hotel, please contact: info@fehmibey.com Another friend Mehmet Girgic is a felter from Konya who recently opened a studio in Istanbul beside the little Aya Sofya Mosque, a few paces downhill and behind the Blue Mosque. Because I have an interest in dervishes (they are featured in three of my novels) I asked Mehmet to teach me how to make a felted hat of the kind the dervishes wear when they whirl. The workshop spanned about five hours, including a break for simit, local pretzels. He began with carefully selected mohair and a traditional reed mat about 2 by 8 meters, upon which he can lay out 12 hats. The process of cubuk is the layering of the wool on the mat, which “takes a light touch” and what looked like much practice. After forming a fluffy oval of wool, it is wound up in the reed mat and “kicked” for about 50 minutes. After, he unrolled the mat, removed his flattened oval and applied soap and water, as shown in the video below. Mehmet then rolls the oval up like a rolling pin and applies pressure. Opening it again, he applies more soapy water. Eventually, he pulls the two sides of the oval open, much like the lavas flat bread they serve in Istanbul. What’s amazing is that the two side have not felted together. As Mehmet rolls the piece, course hairs are worked out. This is the neighborhood simit man who wandered into our workshop. Below, Mehmet shows his dexterity manipulating the wool and the cellphone at once. After the rolling is finished, he shaves excess hairs with a razor. Then he slips the felted piece over a wooden mold. Mehemt places the hats oustide to dry and within a day or two, I was the proud owner of my very own dervish hat! Contact Mehmet Gircic at: www.thefeltmaker.net and email him at: thefeltmaker@yahoo.com mailto:musabasaran@gmail.com?subject=Weaving%20mailto:info@fehmibey.com?subject=email%20subjecthttp://www.thefeltmaker.netshapeimage_1_link_0shapeimage_1_link_1shapeimage_1_link_2

Elif Bilman, a retired English teacher in Istanbul, weaving a kilim in Musa's studio. 

Master Weaver Musa Basaran and his student Linda Robinson, holding Linda's first kilim.